Bottle stopper



y 7, 19 4 R. c, BE-ACHAM 2,644,453

- BOTTLE STOPPERY Filed Aug. 11, 1-951 INVEN TOR. Aoberf C. Beac/mm W TTORNEYS' Patented July 7, 1 953 Robert C. Beacham, Richmond, Caliiqas'signor to Cutter Laboratories, Inc., corporation of Cali- 'fornia' Application August 11, 1951, Serial No. 241,489

2 Claims.

This invention relates to'an improvement in a container for a solution for a parenteral injection and particularly to a stopper construction for such a container.

The usual container for such sterile solutions includes a glass bottle havinga neck closed by a resilient stopper compressed in the bottle neck. In use, the stopper is pierced with a suitable tubular element to permit withdrawal of its contents, the bottle then being inverted and the contents withdrawn; it is' usual in assemblin and renders the parts more expensive and their assembly difilcult; if a straight length of tubing is used without such special retaining means, the forces inherently present in the compressed stopper sufiice to cause the tube in some instances to be displaced from its mounting in the stopper.

In accordance with this invention, I provide a stopperconstructicn which, in combination with a lain length of tubing, sufices to retain the tubing in place.

erally indicated at 9, is mounted in the bore 8 and is retained in place as by the usual metal cap ll.

The-resilient stopper 9 includes an air passageway l2 closed by a suitable removable seal element such as removable closure [4 provided upon the outer face 55 of the stopper., Stopper 9 also includes a plug portion having side walls 2!, which in the form disclosed is a truncated frustrum of a cone terminating in a cylindrical flange 22 which is held firmly against the top of the bottle, as appears in Figure 1, and seals the container one can use a stopper having a cylindrical side wall. The overall size of the stopper to be insertedin the bottle is, in any case, such that the stopper is compressed at least slightly and a fluid-tight closure provided.

A length of tubing I6 is mounted in a portion of the air passage [2 and, in accordance with this invention, the passage I2 is provided with an enlargement or cavity I '7 intermediate the I ends of the passage, a terminal end of tube it extending into such enlargement so that the end of the tube is exposed and axial forces cannot be applied to such end by the resilient stopper.

' As is shown in the drawing, the portion of the It is in general the broad object of the present invention to provide an improved container construction and particularly an inexpensive, improved seal enabling the air admittance tube to be mounted in a very simple and yet positive manner.

The invention includes other objects andfeatures of advantage, someof which, together with the foregoing, will appear hereinafter wherein the present preferred form of container and stopper embodying this invention are disclosed.

In the drawing accompanying and forming a part hereof, Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section through a container embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view through a stopper illustrating the construction employed for mounting the air admittance tube.

Referring to the drawing, I have shown a glass bottle container generally indicated at 6 and having a reduced neck portion 1, the latter having an internal cylindrical surface 8 defining an outlet from the bottle. A resilient stopper, genpassageway extending from the cavity to the atmosphere is of substantially smaller diameter than the diameter of the tube. The enlargement or cavity can take various forms and that which has been shown in the drawing is spherical. However, it can be cylindrical or of an inregular shape so long as it is relatively large as compared to the tube diameter. The function of the cavity is to ,takeup certain compressive forces in the stopper so that all forces applied to the tube it are in a direction normal to the longitudinal axis of the tube while any force extending in a direction parallel to such axis is not applied to the tube. With such axial forces eliminated, the tube remains securely in place at all times.

From the foregoing, I believe it will be apparent that I have provided a relatively novel, simple and improved container and stopper construction. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the chamber ll provided adjacent to the end of the glass tube It can take various forms. and I do not wish to be limited to any particular form within the scope of the'appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. In a parenteral injection container having a resilient stopper mounted in the container neck with an air tube mounted in an air passageway t 3 in the stopper and extending to adjacent the bottle end, the improvement consisting in walls defining a cavity in the air-passageway in the stopper into which the tube projects with its terminal end in the stopper out of contact with the stopper, the portion of said passageway ext nding from the cavity to the atmosphere being 02 substantially smaller diameter tha the tube. t2. A stopper for a parenteral injection con tainer having-a resilient plug portion adapted tb fit within the neck of said container by com-' pressive friction grip, said stopper having a tube mounted in an air passageway therein said tube extending from that side oi the stopper adapted to fit within the container, and walls defining a cavity in the air passageway in said stopper into which the tube projects with its terminal end in the stopper out of contact with the stopper, the portion of said passageway extending from the container to the atmosphere side of the 5 stopper being of substantially smaller diameter than the tube.

ROBERT C. BEACHAM.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

